News brief
Trending topics
- Managing the fallout of Covid-19
- European Framework Agreement
- Gig workers and the regulation of platforms
- EWC agreements and recast directive
- hybrid work
- Artificial intelligence
- Global Framework Agreements
- Skills
- Collective agreement
- Remote work regulations
- Wages
- Older workers
- CSRD
- Gender equality
- Corporate sustainability due diligence
Netherlands: Achmea to allocate every employee a one-time €2,500 ‘climate budget’
Dutch insurer Achmea is introducing a new innovative company collective labour agreement, which was approved on 14 January 2022 by the two of the three trade unions, namely FNV Finance and CNV...
- HR
- CSR
19 January 2022
Netherlands: Ikea launches a jobs inclusion programme for seventy refugees
The Swedish furniture chain plans to train 70 people with a refugee background in the Netherlands by way of a three-month paid work experience placement including a language learning course. At...
- HR
- CSR
18 January 2022
EU: paid annual leave must be taken into account when calculating the overtime work hours threshold (CJEU judgment)
In a judgment handed down on 13 January 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that an employer could not exclude the “the hours corresponding to the period of paid annual...
18 January 2022
Austria: more flexible recruitment procedures for 66 professions with labour shortages
Updated every year, Austria’s list of professions classed as suffering from labour shortages and for which the Austrian national hiring preference does not apply has increased from 45 to 66...
18 January 2022
United Kingdom: employers required to supply personal protective equipment to “workers”
From 6 April, UK businesses will be required to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to “workers” who are exposed to health or safety risks in the workplace. It should be noted...
17 January 2022
Japan: Panasonic adopts “optional” four-day working week
An increasing number of companies in Japan are offering their staff the option of working a 32-hour week, in keeping with recommendations issued by the country’s government in June last year...
17 January 2022
United States: no vaccine mandate for large companies
The plans of US president Joe Biden’s administration to make vaccination against Covid-19 mandatory at companies with 100 employees or more have been dashed. In a ruling passed on 13...
14 January 2022
Italy: vaccination mandatory for over-50s under stricter workplace rules
Under the decree law issued by the Italian government on 7 January, which contains new measures to slow the surge in Covid-19 infections, those over the age of 50 are required to be vaccinated...
14 January 2022
Germany: the Minister of Labour wants to create a right to telework
As the resurgence of Covid-19 and its Omicron variant makes teleworking once again mandatory in Germany for all employees for whom this form of working is possible, Hubertus Heil, German Minister...
13 January 2022
United States: historic union presence at Starbucks
On 09 December 2021 workers at a Starbucks coffee shop in Buffalo, New York State voted to form a trade union. The vote occurred a few weeks after the Workers United labour union was established...
13 January 2022
Great Britain: companies reduce sick pay for unvaccinated employees who need to isolate
From 10 January, employees of the Wessex Water company who have not received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and who do not have any medical evidence justifying their status will only...
11 January 2022
EU: minimum wage set to be introduced in Cyprus this year
Of the six European Union member states yet to introduce a minimum wage, Cyprus appears set to be the first to do so, in what could be a first impact of the directive presented by the European...
10 January 2022
France: insurer Maif renews agreement on employment of disabled workers
The French mutual insurance group Maif has struck an agreement, valid for three years and signed by all trade unions at the company, that will foster the employment of disabled people. At present...
- HR
- CSR
10 January 2022
China’s new trade union law strengthens Communist Party control
On 24 December 2021, the National People’s Congress adopted a series of amendments to the Trade Union Law of the People’s Republic of China, which will become effective on 01 January...
6 January 2022
Benelux: Publicis Groupe Belgium & Netherlands offers paid distance learning internships to students across the globe
On 13 December 2021, and in order to accelerate ‘the diversity revolution and deliver projects that showcase society,’ Publicis Groupe Belgium & Netherlands announced the launch of...
- HR
- CSR
4 January 2022
News feed to resume on 3 January 2022
The team at Planet Labor will be taking a few days off at the end of an action-packed year of news. We will resume publication on the morning of Monday 3 January 2022. Our news archives will of...
17 December 2021
Our mind news
France: La Poste to launch negotiations for an AI agreement
Following the lead of firms such as Axa, Syensqo globally, and more recently CDC Habitat, La Poste group management will open negotiations on an AI regulation agreement during the first half of...
5 March 2026
Crédit Agricole is to adopt stricter rules on remote work from mid-March onwards. The rules will be tightened for employees, but the maximum number of days working remotely will remain unchanged.
29 January 2026
The three representative trade unions at Orange France have until 10 December to validate an agreement on gender equality, work–life balance and anti-discrimination measures. While the text...
8 December 2025
In 2025, for the first time, the universal registration documents of major European companies contain the sustainability reporting required by the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive...
31 October 2025
Most viewed articles of the month on mind HR
What readers clicked on the most last month.
What readers clicked on the most last month.
1
France: Cabinet adopts pay transparency bill
After several months of delay beyond the European deadline of 7 June 2026, French Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou finally presented the bill transposing the Pay Transparency Directive to the...
10 September 2026
2
Germany: IG Metall demands 5% pay rise amid severe pressure
Despite the crisis hitting the automotive industry, the leadership of the German trade union IG Metall announced on Wednesday 23 September that it would be asking for a 5% pay increase as well as...
23 September 2026
3
Italy: Crédit Agricole introduces a handbook on managerial behaviour
The document adopted in mid-July by Crédit Agricole Italia and the main banking trade unions goes beyond the proper use of meetings and emails. This six-point handbook aims to foster constructive...
3 September 2026
4
Spain: government revisits its draft decree on salary transparency
The Spanish Ministry of Labour has opened a consultation on the transposition of the European directive on salary transparency and the reduction of the gender pay gap. This decision follows a...
8 September 2026
5
Slovakia: 6% increase in the minimum wage from 1 January 2027
The news. As Slovakia’s social partners failed to reach an agreement during tripartite negotiations, Labour Minister Erik Tomas has decided to increase the minimum wage by 6% from 1 January...
1 September 2026
6
EU: Commission proposes a list of worker-related criteria for public procurement
The news. On 9 September, the European Commission published a proposal for a regulation aimed at unifying European public procurement law, which accounts for 15% of European GDP. It is notably set...
17 September 2026